Warnings: Winter storm in southern New England late Sunday

Published 6:15 pm, Saturday, January 31, 2015

BOSTON -- A week after a two-day blizzard dropped 2 feet of snow on mid and southern New England, winter storm warnings were issued for most of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The National Weather Service said between 8 and 14 inches of snow could fall in eastern and central areas beginning around midnight Sunday, with up to 16 inches in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts and Connecticut's Litchfield hills. Southwestern Connecticut could see between 5 and 10 inches of snow and sleet.

Winter storm watches were issued, predicting less snow in southern coastal areas, where sleet and freezing rain also is expected.

Last week's blizzard dropped 2 feet of snow on Boston and up to 3 feet in some areas to the west. Driving bans were in place in all three states, and schools were closed for up to three days while crews cleared streets and sidewalks.

"We hoping it won't be as bad" as last week's storm, she said.

Boston had already announced security plans for Sunday night's Super Bowl, when the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in Phoenix. Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said the new storm is expected to be typical for a New England winter, but he said state officials are preparing and urge residents to do the same.

"We have been working with communities to make sure they are aware of the potential of the storm, and they have been working hard to get streets and sidewalks as clean as possible in anticipation," he said.